Michael Cotter

ExxonMobil Pipeline Company agreed to pay 12-million dollars to the federal government and the state of Montana to resolve claims that stem from a 2011 pipeline break that spilled crude oil into the Yellowstone River in Laurel.

A proposed consent decree was filed in U.S. District Court on September 21, 2016 to address the natural resource damage.

The Federal government is suing the owners of a mine near Lincoln, where members of the "Oath Keepers" group have gathered.

U.S. Attorney Michael Cotter filed the civil suit in federal court in Helena Tuesday. The complaint claims George Kornec and Philip Nappo, owners of the White Hope Mine, have blocked access to public lands, by illegally opening a road, cutting down trees, and building a garage on the site.

The federal government says the Missoula police department has made tremendous progress in how it handles reports of sexual assault.

"In short, this community has come together to institute long-term, systemic change to protect and ensure the safety of generations to come," said Vanita Gupta, head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

A federal Department of Justice advisory committee studying issues related to children's' exposure to violence in Native American or Alaska Native communities is meeting this week in Florida. Montana U.S. Attorney Michael Cotter is there to share details about a pilot project taking place among the Chippewa Cree Tribe on Eastern Montana's Rocky Boy Reservation.

Missoula county attorney Fred Van Valkenburg is willing to negotiate a "memorandum of understanding" with the federal Justice department, as a way of resolving DOJ's concerns about the way the county attorney's office has handled past sexual assault investigations. The offer is contained in a letter written by Van Valkenburg and sent to U.S. Attorney Michael Cotter.